Ancient Future Live 2016
In what was, largely, a change from the norm Protoje and his band Indiggnation had designs to recreate the in studio magic they had when they constructed one of the best reggae albums of 2015 ‘Ancient Future’, LIVE on stage. Word first began to seep out about the concert at the turn of the New Year with well-crafted hints popping up everywhere you turn on the major social media channels: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. So as the date came closer, more and more the feeling of anticipation grew amongst the Jamaican online contingent. Especially since it seemed that Protoje and his handlers would spare no expense in efforts to make this acoustic experience an extra special one. The anticipation grew to a crescendo the actual day of the concert with several of the concert ticket outlets reporting they were sold out many many hours before the event. And by the time dusk came around, patrons were already making their way to the Shell bandstand within Hope Gardens. Yaadcore, Protoje’s tour DJ and longtime friend, kept the early comers engaged until it was time for the main show. And by the time Protoje and the Indiggnation band hit the stage, the majority of the crowd had already filled the venue and were nervously waiting to be entertained. And that wait was not in vain, as Protoje decided to kick off the proceedings with the energetic ‘Criminal’ aided ably by executive producer of the entire album, Winta James on the keyboards.
A well-crafted stage setup accentuated by the projection images and graphics provided by Yannik Reid and Taj Francis on the backdrop behind the stage kept the visual component engrossing throughout the night, in some cases adding the perfect tone to select songs. The second song ‘Protection’ featured Mortimer, an upcoming reggae act whose notable contribution to the song made it one of the absolute favourites on the album of the populace.
Next two songs were the mellow ‘All Will Have to Change’ and ‘Bubblin’ garnered the spirited response from the audience especially when Protoje with the help of his backup singers mixed the latter with a JAH9 crowd favourite ‘Steamers a Bubble’. One of the better received songs on the night ‘Stylin’, featured Indiggnation’s Paris Lamont on the vocoder. There was something about the mix of hearing that song live complete with the music video in the background that really set the mood for the rest of the night. ‘Love Gone Cold’ saw the entry of the first guest artiste on the stage, the sweet singing Sevana.
The chemistry between acts was notable and actually led into a very cool rendition of a past hit ‘No Lipstick’, which Protoje used to tease the ladies present in the crowd. ‘Who Can You Call’ and ‘Answer To Your Name’ maintained the momentum which led straight into the appearance of the second special guest Jesse Royal on the track ‘Sudden Flight’. Sevana returned to complete the trio that appeared on the LP version, which led to raucous applause and cheers right throughout the song.
Agent Sasco (formerly known as Assassin), surprised everyone when he ran on the stage and sang a few of his past fan favourites ‘Hand to Mouth’ and ‘Anywhere We Go’. Sasco exited after this short but impactful cameo however there was no rest for the audience as up hopped up Chronixx from the backstage to accompany Protoje to sing, what might very well be the reggae anthem for all of last year, ‘Who Knows’. Protoje added a little extra spice to the performance when he invited his mother Lorna Bennett, who was a recording artist in her own right in the 70s, to help with the second verse of the song. For the finale the final song that appeared on the album ‘Hold the Flame’, was used as the one to close the show with Kabaka Pyramid being the final guest to recite his verse.
And there it was after a few curtain calls, Ancient Future Live 2016 was over. This event, in my eyes, was great ‘gift’ to the Jamaican audience who rarely get a chance to experience a full set from our reggae artists, add to the fact that this particular artiste primarily chose to perform only tracks that appear on the album. Made it a great experience. It was also a treat to see everyone who worked on the album come out and support this initiative. This is the type of unity that is needed in all forms of the Jamaican music industry. Protoje, himself, will now go off on the road to fulfil his many overseas engagements no doubt buoyed by the fact that on the 20th February 2016 he and his team put on a show that will be used to measure all other local showcase concerts moving forward.
Sickest thing about Ancient Future Live was the fact that I could do only songs from my 3 album and the crowd knew everything
— BLXXDCLXXT (@Protoje) March 2, 2016
@Protoje | Ancient Future Live Concert | Feb. 20th 2016 pic.twitter.com/HcwJBMA3SW
— celestial (@cedestial) February 23, 2016
We need more concerts like @Protoje Ancient Future last night – beyond value for money pic.twitter.com/8Ie1EkKtp9
— Zimi Entertainment (@zimient) February 21, 2016
Photos: Jik Reuben
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